Game



Sept. 2 1924. 1,507,256 J. E. SEVERE GAME Filed Dec. 15, 1922 2Sheets-Sheet. 1

Sept. 2 1924.

J. E. SEVERE GAME Filed Dec. 15 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 lNVENT R PatentedSept. 2, 19246.

UNITED STATES JAMES nnwaan seven-n,

015' BROOKLYN, YORK.

GAME.

Application filed December To all whom it may concern Be it known thatI, JAMES EDWARD SEVERE, a citizen of the United States, residing atBrooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Games, of which the following isa full, clear, and exact description, such as will enable others skilledin the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to an improvementin games and with respect to itsmore specific features to baseball games.

An object of the invention is to provide an interesting and divertinggame, wherein the element of both skill and chance enter into theplaying.

Another object is to provide a game having hazards, and game piecesadapted to be driven past the hazards to score, wherein sundry of thehazards are adjustable to strategic positions to increase the difiicultyof the scoring.

Another object is to provide in a game having a striker for driving gamepieces in the general direction of scoring points. a plurality ofhazards, some fixed, and some adjustable, for deflecting the game piecesto increase the difficulty of scoring.

Another object is to provide in a game having hazards and a striker fordriving the game pieces past the hazards to score. means to direct thegame pieces toward the striker, capable of adjustment to increase thedifliculty of driving the game piece in the direction desired.

Another object is to provide an improved construction of striker for thegame pieces, capable of adjustment to different positions on the board,and arranged to permit a degree of choice in the direction in which thegame piece is to be driven.

Another object is to provide a game including a board, and played withgame pieces and counters, which will closely simulate baseball asplayed.

Another object is to provide in a game, including a board having therepresentation of a baseball field, a striker for driving 15, 1922.Serial No. 607,040.

game pieces in the form of balls toward scoring pockets.

Other objects will be in part obvious and in part pointed outhereinafter.

The invention accordingly consists in the.

features of construction, combinations of elements and arrangement ofparts which will be exemplified in the construction hereinafter setforth, and the scope of the ap plication of which will be indicated inthe following claims,

In the accompanying drawings forming a part of thisspecification'wherein similar reference characters refer to similarparts throughout the several views,

Figure 1 is a plan view of the game board,

2 is an end View with parts broken away,

Figs. 3, 5 and 6 are sections on the lines 3-3, 5-5 and 6-6,respectively, of Fig. 1,

Fig. i is a side view of the game piece director, with parts in section,

Fig. 7 is a plan view of the striker,

Fig. 8 is a front elevation of one of the counters.

In the present embodiment of the inven tion, the game includes a gameboard, composed of a substantially square field or plate 1. havingframing members 2, which enclose the plate in a substantially squareframe, and the plate is spaced nearer the tops of the framing membersthan the bottoms. The bottom of the frame constituted by the framingmembers 2 is closed by a bottom plate 3, and a false bottom 4 isarranged in the compartment between the plates 1 and 3, for a purpose tobe presentlv described. The spacing of the plate 1 from the tops of theframing members provides for a flange or ledge enclosing the plate 1.and the upper face of the said plate is provided with the representationof a baseball field indicated at 5 in Fig. 1. The bases or plates areindicated on the diamond, as is also the pitchers box, and the foullines. Colored rectangles 6 are provided on-each side of the home plate,indicating the location of the striker to be presently described. Theplate 1 is pro vided at the sides remote from. the home plate withopenings 7, through which the game pieces indicated at 8, and which arespheres, preferably of rubber or the like, are adapted to pass when saidgame pieces register with the openings. The openings of each seriesextend from the foul line at that side of the board to the corner of theboard remote from the home plate.

" ing 7, it will be deflected through the opening into the space belowthe plate 1. The.

adjacent ends of the hoods 9 are connected by a short plate or strip 10,and the plate 1 is colored adjacent to the plate 10, the

' field 11 of color extending-over two openings as shown. A smallsubstantially trian" gular, filler 12 is placed at the strip or plate 10for supporting the same, and the hoods ,9 are braced by substantiallytrian gular plates 13, arranged between the hoods and the/plate 1.Certain other fields of color 14 and 15 are provided at selectedopenings in the two series, the fields 11 being about the middle of theseries, while i the fields 15 are near the outer ends of the series. Theopenings atl the fields 11, 14 and 15 have increased value in the count,as will be presently described.

At substantially the positions occupied by 'the opposing players, thatis those in the field, when playmg, substantially triangular openings 16are provided, in the plate 1, and at each opening a hood 17 is securedto'the plate 1, the hoods all. facing substantially toward home plate.Fig. 1. it will be seen that the openings 16 have their apices toward,home plate, the hoods extending along the bases of the ,openings. Theopening 16? at the catchers position is slightly different in shape, thesaid opening being the segment of a circle, instead of a triangle,but'the hood 17" is similar to the hoods 17. All of the open-. ings].'16 and 16 constitute pockets, the

openings being scoring pockets, while the openings 16 and 16". arehazard pockets.

It will thus be seen that the backfield,

.as seen from; the position of the striker is.

,-.m u1ar1y divided into sectionswhich have different scoring valueswhich the defending. player; may take into consideration in placing theadjustable hazards 30. Thus great skill can be exercised by thedefending players in the positioning of the ballpropelling device 26 andin the positioning of the aforesaid players, while a correspond-Referring to ing skill may be exercised by the player at the bat, by thetiming and by the positioning of the striker. The game pieces are driventoward the scoring pockets by a striker, shown more particularly in Fig.7. i

thereof, as indicated-at 21, and the disc has a handle 22 forconvenience in 0scillating the same. A bracket 23 is secured to the discnear the edge, and on its upper face, the bracket being substantially Ushaped,'and having its body securedto the disc.- The arms of the bracketextend upwardly, and have registering openings, for receiving the handleof a bat shaped member 21 which is held in the openings, in any suitablemanner. The disc has an upstanding lug 25 at its periphery, in positionto engage with its edge the bat shaped'mem her, at about the junction ofthe handle with the body thereof, to strengthen and reinforce themember. The handle 22 is ofl set upwardly from the plane of the disc,for convenience in grasping the same. In operating the striker theplayer may bat from either side. of the home plate, resting the plate 19on either field 6. "With the left hand, or with the right, when thebatter .is left-handed, the plate 19 is held tightly down upon thefield. With the right hand, the bat is swung to strike the game piece todrive it toward thescoring pockets.

In order to supply game pieces to be. batted, the mechanism shown moreparticularly in Fig. 4 is provided. The said mechanism comprises a baseor body 26, which is pivoted to the plate 1, asindicated' at 27, atthepitchers box. The said base has an .o oenin 28 extendin lon itudinallrthereof, and inclined to the horizontal. In vertical section the base issubstantially triangular,.and the base of the triangle is remote fromthe home plate. There is sutficient inclination of the opening 28. tocause the game pieces to roll down through the same, out upon the plate1 andover the pitchers base, and it will be obvious that by swinging thebase on its pivotal jmounting, the direction of travel of the game piecemay be varied. As for instance, the person operating the pitchingdevice, above described, may deliver four wide balls thus giving the"batter a base. Preferablya tubular extension 29 is connected with thebase, one end ofthe extension being inserted in the opening 28. The freeend of the extension is beveled as shown, to facilitate series may bedifferently colored if desired, or otherwise distinguished from eachother, and those of the side at bat are counters used to indicate theposition of the players on the bases. Those of the side in the field areplaced at strategic points to deflect the game pieces from the openings7, and into the openings 16, The counters may be placed at any pointsdesired, in accordance with the fancy of the player. Should he forinstance notice that the player at bat has a tendency to strike hisballs toward one of the fields, he will place his counters principallyon that side. Thus a considerable degree of skill and observation may beutilized in playing the game.

The rules applying to the game of baseball are followed generally.However, certain special rules are necessary, as for instance regardingthe batted ball or game piece. If the ball rolls outside of the foullines, it is a foul ball, as in the usual practice, but it is also afoul if it strikes the pitching device 26. Neither may the player buntthe ball, 'bunts being counted as fouls. The game may be played betweentwo or more, and when played with two, they alternate at bat and in thefield. Balls and strikes are counted as in ordinary baseball, and anyball struck into the field that does not drop into the pockets 16 is abase hit, entitling the batter to one base. Any players on bases will bemoved up one base. If the ball drops into any of the pockets 16, theplayer is out, and should the ball strike and enter the pitching trough,that is the opening 28, the batter is also out. If the batted ballenters one of the openings within the field 11, the batter is entitledto three bases. If the ball enters an opening in a field 15, he isentitled to two bases, while if the ball enters an opening in a field14, the batter is entitled to a home run. Balls that enter any of theother openings 7 count as clean hits. The pitcher may if desired turnthe pitching device, and attempt to hit a runner on base. If the ballstrikes the runner and enters the adjacent opening 16, the runner isout. If, however, he does not hit the runner, that is the counterrepresentingthe runner, the runner may take another base, and everyother man on base moves up one base. When the game is played by twoersons, one operates the striker, and the other the pitching device.Should the batter drive a ball into one of the openings 7, or shouldthere be four balls, he is entitled to a base, and a counter is placedon 1st base. If however, the game piece strikes in one of the pockets16-16 or in the opening 28 of the pitching device, the batter is out.When there are three outs the side is out. Runs are scored in preciselythe same way as in the game of baseball, and for convenience countingdevices indicated at 31 and 32 are arranged on the member,

the formerbeing adapted to count and record the balls and strikes, whilethe other records hits, runs and errors as also innings and outs, forboth sides. When one side is out, the opposing side takes thebat andthis alternation is continued until a selected number of innings, as forinstance nine, is played.

The false bottom 4 slopes downwardly away from the pocket 16", towardthe opposite corner of the board, and the framing 2 is provided with anopening, at the lowest part of the bottom, and a receiver 33 is arrangedat the opening. The false bottom carries the game pieces which havepassed through the pockets to the receiver 33, which extends beyond theframing 2, so that the game pieces may be removed from the receiver bythe players. The rectangles 6 are formed by sheets of material having ahigh coefficient of friction, as for instance velvet or other pilematerial. The purpose of the facing is to prevent slipping of the base19 of the striker, when it is held on one of the rectangles.

As many changes could be made in the above construction and manyapparently widely different embodiments of this invention could be madewithout departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all mattercontained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawingsshall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

It is also to be understood that the language used in the followingclaims is intended to cover all of the generic and specific features ofthe invention herein described, and all statements of the scope of theinvention, which, as a matter of language, might be said to falltherebetween.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent is:

1. A game comprising a board, a striker thereon for propelling a ball, aplurality of openings in said board arranged in a substantially straightline, and through which the ball may pass, and a common deflectoradjacent said openings and parallel to the line thereof, adapted tooverhang them to deflect a ball therethrough.

adjustable ball propelling device at the no pitohers plate, and a seriesof scoring pockets at the sides of the board remote from the striker,adapted to receive and positively retain a ball, and hazards atsubstantially the positions of the opposing players.

4. A game comprising a board having thereon the representation of abaseball field, a striker mounted upon a block bodily Inovable on saidboard to various ositions about 10 the home plate, an adjustable allpropelling device at the pitchers plate, and hazards at substantiallythe positions of the opposing players.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature, in the presence of twoWitnesses.

JAMES EDWVARD SEVERE;

